Number 57 – 18 July 2022

“Once the government becomes the supplier of people’s needs, there is no limit to the needs that will be claimed as a basic right.” Lawrence Auster

This evening several of us start our AirVenture, Oshkosh 2022 pilgrimage via Amsterdam and on to Chicago. Having missed EAA AirVenture for the past two years due to the pandemic, this is a most exciting time. This will be my personal 20^th visit to the ‘Greatest Aviation Celebration on Earth’ and as always, we will be camping on the airfield with Neil Bowden’s Air Adventure Tours group of around 105 South Africans this year. African Pilot will be providing regular updates from Oshkosh within future editions of APAnews. This year we have an exciting announcement that will be made after my return from AirVenture that will be an indication of how much the publication has developed within the past three years to become the fourth best English language aviation magazine in the world.    

AERO SA 2022 – Highlights!

Wallpaper calendar for the month of July. Go to our wallpaper page to download the calendars in three different resolutions.

Forced landing into trees

By Paul Ludick and John Comley

A new book about to be launched outlines two fears uppermost in every general aviation pilot’s mind when flying, is an inflight fire and a forced emergency landing. The fundamental and overarching purpose of the Forced Landing Into Trees book, online training and certification programme is to provide a pilot-in-command (PIC) of an aircraft with more options when conducting an ‘off-base’ forced emergency landing.

After reading this book, doing the online training, or completing the certification programme, it is highly likely that you will forever change the way you look at the landscape when you are flying! You will need to ‘recalibrate’ the years of thinking about how you see the landscape within which you find yourself flying and how you, as the pilot-in-command of your aircraft, will forthwith view a tree in the context of a forced emergency landing!

A tree will no longer be something to be avoided at all costs. It will now be your friend and something that could possibly save your life when you are out of other forced emergency landing options! The Forced Landing Into Trees book, online training and certification programme postulates and advocates that optional landing into trees is an effective technique for executing a forced emergency landing and for possibly saving the lives of all onboard an aircraft.

This book, online training and certification programme highlight the effectiveness  and high rate of survivability of Forced Landings Into Trees by documenting the laws of physics and energy that support this technique of forced emergency landings; by providing training techniques, as well as providing multiple case studies of Forced Landings Into Trees in which both pilots and passengers have walked away on many occasions without a scratch!

Reading and understanding the contents of this book, online training and certification programme, and becoming proficient in the techniques of Forced Landings Into Trees, could significantly increase your chances of survival if, or when, faced with a forced emergency landing scenario. The Forced Landing Into Trees certification programme is highly recommended and if completed, could well provide you, as a GA pilot, with a potential life-saving edge when it is most needed.

Website: www.av8torsafety.com/FLIT

Regulations regarding fees for the provision of aviation meteorological services

18 to 22 July
Farnborough International Airshow
Website: www.farnboroughairshow.com

22 to 31 July
EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USA
Camping on the airfield contact Neil Bowden at E-mail: neil1@telkomsa.net

Hotels in Appleton contact Calvin Fabig at E-mail: calvin@designer.co.za

* African Pilot will be present at AirVenture this year and we will provide regular updates about the greatest aviation adventure in the world.

29 and 30 July
Soutpansberg fly-in Louis Trichardt 
Contact Jaco at E-mail: spbvliegklub@gmail.com Cell: 082 353 6002

30 July
Krugersdorp Flying Club Spot Landing
Contact Nandi at Tel: 083 577 8894 E-mail: kfc@iafrica.com

13 August
Steady Climb fly-in at Rhino Park airfield
Contact David Le Roux at E-mail: david@pilotinsure.co.za Cell: 073 338 5200

20 August
SAPFA Speed Rally at Groblersdal airfield
Contact David le Roux at E-mail: david@pilotinsure.co.za Cell: 073 338 5200

25 and 26 August
Public Safety and Security Drones Conference Emperors Palace Convention Centre
Contact Maria Jani E-mail: maria@africaptraining.co.za

26 and 27 August
Bethlehem Airshow at Bethlehem airfield
Contact Stephan Fourie at E-mail: fouriesj1491@gmail.com Cell: 072 344 9678

26 to 28 August
RV Fly-away to the Karoo to Kuzuko Lodge
Contact Clive Gibson E-mail cagibson@global.co.za Website: www.kuzuko.com

2 September
Children’s Flight at Orient airfield
Felix Gosher at E-mail: thechildrensflight2022@gmail.com Cell: +27 (0)66 191 4603

4 September
Rand Airport Airshow (Sunday)
Contact Stuart Coetzee at E-mail: manager@randairport.co.za Cell: 082 444 0407

10 and 11 September
SAC Limpopo Regionals at Phalaborwa airfield
Contact Annie Boon at E-mail: chunge@mweb.co.za

14 to 18 September
STIHL National Championship Air Racers Reno Air Racing Association
September Website: www.airrace.org

15 and 16 September
Aviation Africa at the Kigali Convention Centre, Rwanda
Contact Mark Brown at E-mail: mark.brown@aviationafrica.aero

17 September
Krugersdorp Flying Club fly-in
Contact Nandi at Tel: 083 577 8894 E-mail kfc@iafrica.com

19 to 21 September
Ag Aviation Africa Conference at Bona Bona Game Lodge
Contact Elsabe Carstens E-mail: elsabe@agaviationafrica.com Cell: 074 933 0570

20 to 22 September
MRO Asia-Pacific, Singapore
Contact Jennifer Roberts at E-mail: Jennifer.roberts@aviationweek.com

21 to 25 September
Africa Aerospace and Defence 2022 AFB Waterkloof
Contact Ms Michelle Nxumalo at E-mail: Expodir@aadexpo.co.za Cell 083 6320 676

24 September
Stellenbosch Flying club Heritage day event
Contact Anton Theart at E-mail: gm@stelfly.co.za Cell: 079 873 4567

24 September
Vans RV day at Kitty Hawk airfield
Contact Frank van Heerden at E-mail: frank@mweb.co.za Cell: 082 656 7253

24 to 26 September
ICAO Innovation Fair Innovation for enhanced resilience in International Civil Aviation.
Montreal Canada

Cargo aircraft that was carrying weapons to Bangladesh crashed

Officials say a cargo plane which crashed in northern Greece was carrying 11 tonnes of weapons, including land mines to Bangladesh. People living within two kilometres of the site where the Antonov-12 came down have been warned to stay indoors. The aircraft was flying from Serbia to Jordan when it crashed late on Saturday close to the city of Kavala, killing all eight people on board. Eyewitness video showed the plane on fire and a huge fireball as it crashed. On Sunday morning, drones were being used to survey the site of the wreckage out of caution.

State-run TV reported the army, explosives experts and Greek Atomic Energy Commission staff would not approach the site until it was deemed safe. “The air measurements at the moment have not shown anything but nonetheless instability in the field was observed,” Lieutenant General Marios Apostolidis, of the Northern Greece Fire Brigade, told reporters. “In other words, intense smoke and heat, as well as a white substance that we do not recognise, so a special armed forces team has to inform us what it is and whether we can enter the field.”

It was reported that the pilot had requested an emergency landing at Kavala airport due to an engine problem shortly after take-off but was unable to reach the runway. Aimilia Tsaptanova, who saw the plane come down said she was amazed it had not crashed into their homes. “It was full of smoke, it had a noise I cannot describe and it went over the mountain,” she said. “It passed the mountain and turned and crashed into the fields. There were flames, we were scared. A lot of cars came, but they could not approach because there were continuous explosions.”

Serbia’s Defence Minister Nebojša Stefanovic said that the Antonov AN-12 was transporting almost 11 tonnes of Serbian-made weapons to Bangladesh. It was due to make stops in Jordan, Saudi Arabia and India before reaching its final destination of Dhaka. The plane was being operated by Meridian, a Ukrainian cargo airline, although so far, there is no indication of any connection with the war in Ukraine.

Airbus A320 comes within six feet of crashing while on approach to Paris

The Airbus A320, registration 9H-EMU and operated by wet lease specialist AirHub, was coming in to land at CDG on a flight from Stockholm Arlanda at approximately 11h40 UTC on 23 May 2022 when the near-collision occurred due to an incorrect altimeter setting. The controller twice gave the crew an incorrect QNH setting of 1011, instead of 1001, with the mistake also not being spotted by the crew, and as a result the approach was flown 280 feet lower than it should have been. The preliminary report, published on 11 July 2022, details several missed opportunities to correct the incorrect altimeter setting, including after Minimum Safe Altitude Warning (MSAW) warnings were generated for controllers and when the aircraft was on its second approach to CDG. Investigators therefore made several safety recommendations in light of the seriousness of the incident.

Investigators recommended that Paris Charles de Gaulle air traffic services be made aware of how critical the correct QNH setting is for the type of RNP approach that was being carried out on the incident flight, the importance of confirming correct read-back of information and the correct phraseology and actions in the event of an MSAW warning being triggered. For AirHub, the BEA recommends that crews are made aware of the importance of the correct QNH setting for such RNP approaches and implement a procedure to cross-check QNH information with another source.

The flight, which was being operated on behalf of Norwegian Air Shuttle, was on an RNP approach to runway 27 at CDG with LNAV/VNAV minima. This type of approach relies on the correct QNH setting being applied by crews because the aircraft will take its altitude information from the barometric altitude systems. According to the preliminary report from the BEA, air traffic controllers received a ground Minimum Safe Altitude Warning at 11:41:32, when the aircraft was at an indicated altitude of 617 feet on the correct QNH of 1001, or 200 feet above the ground according to the radio altimeter, at 1.53 nautical miles from the runway threshold. With a QNH setting of 1011, the crew would have seen an indicated altitude of 891 ft. CDG is 392 ft above sea level. Nine seconds later, at 1.2 nm from the runway, the crew passed the decision altitude of 802 feet as per the incorrect 1011 QNH setting. Because they could not see the runway, the crew opted to go around. However, on the correct QNH setting of 1001, the altitude was 537 feet and the radio altimeter showed the aircraft was 122 feet above the ground. 

At 11:41:47, 15 seconds after the warning was received by ATC and while the controller was calling the aircraft, the autopilot was disconnected and the captain pitched the aircraft up. Three seconds later and when still 0.8 nm from the runway, the aircraft reached its lowest point above the ground, at just six feet according to the radio altimeter. No terrain warning was recorded during the approach according to the BEA report and the crew stated they did not hear any radio altimeter callouts apart from 2500 and 1000 ft. Typically there are automated call outs at 500 feet and then starting from 50 feet above the ground. Crews also stated they did not hear the call from controllers reporting that they had received a warning that the aircraft was close to the ground. As per procedure after an MSAW has been triggered, controllers should immediately advise the flight crew that a terrain alert has been generated, instruct the flight crew to immediately check their flight level or altitude and give them the QNH.  

On the second approach for landing, the faulty QNH setting was not corrected and the aircraft was again 280 feet lower than it should have been. Another MSAW was generated when the aircraft was 3.1 nm from the runway at an indicated altitude of 1,403 ft on QNH 1011 (but 1,131 ft QNH 1001, 842 ft per the radio altimeter). When called by the controller, the crew said they did not understand why the message had been received but that they were visual with the runway. However, runway PAPI lights indicated to the crew that they were lower than they should be, so they corrected the approach and landed safely. 

Firefighting aircraft crashes in foz coa

In a statement, the Civil Protection indicates that the plane that crashed in the early evening was ‘a FireBoss amphibious plane, from the Centro de Meios Aereos de Viseu, assigned to the Special Device for Fighting Rural Fires’. The pilot as André Serra (30) lost his life in the crash. Also, according to the statement, the aircraft ‘crashed this afternoon while operating in the Fire in Torre de Moncorvo, Bragança, with the alert having been given at 19h55 and there was a fatality to be recorded, the pilot-commander of the aircraft’. According to the national commander of Civil Protection, André Fernandes, resources have already been sent to the scene, namely an INEM helicopter, Air Force search and rescue resources, firefighters from the Guarda and Bragança districts, elements of the Maritime Police, and a Civil Protection coordination helicopter.

In the last two decades, six Portuguese pilots who participated in firefighting operations died in about a dozen accidents. Prime minister Antonio Costa on Twitter “It was with great dismay that I learned of the death of the pilot who operated an aircraft that crashed this afternoon in the fight against the fire in Torre de Moncorvo. I send my deepest condolences to family and friends. To all the operatives who are on the ground, I convey my solidarity and gratitude for their commitment and dedication to fighting the fires that have ravaged our country.”

USAF MQ-9 Reaper drone crashes in Romania

An MQ-9 Reaper drone operated by the United States Air Force crashed during a training mission south of the Romanian Air Force 71st Air Base in Campia Turzii, Romania. According to the Romanian Defence Minister Vasile Dîncu, the crash caused no injuries as the aircraft crashed into in a cornfield in an uninhabited area. “The USAF is carrying out the initial investigation right now,” the Minister said, as reported by local media Observator. “We are also in contact with them, we will support them if needed.”

In May 2021, the USAF deployed MQ-9 Reaper aircraft and approximately 90 airmen in support of NATO operations in the region. The drones are tasked with conducting intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions.

Airlines turn to baggage-only flights and onboard ground-handlers

As the second-quarter financial results season kicked off this week, there was a striking comment from Delta Air Lines about the measures it is taking to combat operational challenges. Citing ‘baggage issues’ at European airports in particular, the SkyTeam carrier said it recently sent one of its aircraft to Europe to repatriate luggage that had gone missing. This  came after Icelandic national broadcasting service RUV reported that Icelandair has been flying two baggage handlers on its Amsterdam Schiphol services amid staffing shortages at the Dutch hub. It is considering doing the same on other routes, RUV quoted Asdis Petursdottir, Icelandair’s director of communications and sustainability, as saying.

Adversity can sometimes prompt solutions that prove beneficial in the longer-term, but it remains to be seen whether baggage-only flights and onboard ground-handlers catch on. It is certainly the case that the industry still needs solutions to its operational challenges, with moves to cap summer capacity continuing this week. On Monday, European budget carrier Wizz Air said it is limiting summer capacity growth to around 35% compared with the pre-crisis level, in order to reduce risks of operational disruption over the peak period.

The next day, London Heathrow airport announced a capacity cap for the peak summer travel season and requested that its airline customers stop selling tickets for the period, citing the challenges posed by the ‘legacy of Covid’. This drew a strong response from Emirates Airline, which on Thursday described the move as ‘unreasonable and unacceptable’ and vowed to continue its full schedule of Heathrow services. At the end of last week, Jet2 executive chair Philip Meeson said ‘most’ of the airline’s 10 base airports in the UK, which do not include Heathrow have been ‘poorly resourced’, while ground-handlers had shown an ‘inexcusable’ inability to cope and demonstrated ‘often atrocious’ customer service. But amid industry operational woes, Delta’s financial performance provided a reminder of the good that is happening alongside the challenges, as it reported second-quarter revenue up 10% on 2019 levels.

Qatar Airways wins ‘Airline of the Year’

Qatar Airways has again taken the top prize at the AirlineRatings Awards by securing the prestigious ‘Airline of the Year’ award in addition to being named ‘Best Airline in the Middle East’ and also taking home the ‘Best Business Class’ award. This is the second year running that Qatar Airways has scooped the top prize and the fourth year in a row to take home the ‘Best Business Class’ award.

The AirlineRatings ‘Airline of the Year’ award acknowledges the best that aviation has to offer, with a focus on product innovation, a strong route network and overall safety. All AirlineRatings awards are given based on strict assessment criteria put together by industry professionals with extensive expertise and experience in the aviation field.

The award-winning Qsuite, a patented Qatar Airways product, offers a First-Class experience in the Business Class cabin. Qsuite features the industry’s first-ever double bed in Business Class, as well as privacy panels that stow away, allowing passengers in adjoining seats to create their own private room and maintain social distancing, a first of its kind in the industry.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “Winning these awards are another ringing endorsement of everything that we stand for as an airline, as Qatar Airways is fully committed to providing an unrivalled customer experience. Our goal is to deliver excellence and once again securing the ‘Airline of the Year’, ‘Best Airline in the Middle East’ and ‘Best Business Class’ demonstrates that we continue to lead the industry as passengers return to the skies. As we increase our global network to over 150 destinations, we also recently reported our most successful financial results ever with a profit of $1.54 billion, confirming the airline as an all-round strong performer that is hugely popular with our passengers.”

The national carrier of the State of Qatar continues to rebuild its network, which currently stands at over 150 destinations. With more frequencies being added to key hubs, Qatar Airways offers unrivalled connectivity to passengers, making it easy for them to connect to a destination of their choice.

FAA: no discernible progress on approving G100UL avgas

Despite promising to issue a full STC for G100UL avgas in May, the FAA still has not announced expanded approval for the fuel.  General Aviation Modifications Inc. completed test work on G100UL and submitted the STC test package earlier this year. Recall that a limited number of engines were approved for G100UL last summer during AirVenture. The test package submitted in February would expand the number of engines under an Approved Model List to virtually all the powerplants in the GA fleet. After the expanded STC application was submitted, the FAA ordered a Technical Advisory Board review of the certification work done by the Wichita Aircraft Certification Office. The TAB report was not released by the FAA, but GAMI’s George Braly said it appears not to call for additional testing but asks GAMI to provide so-called issue papers to explain detonation testing protocol, engine endurance testing, materials compatibility, hot weather operations and use of an independent fuel specification not recognised by ASTM. Braly said with the exception of an independent fuel specification, all of these areas were addressed in depth during the STC programme under FAA-approved testing methods.

Although the 100LL avgas is refined to meet the industry standard ASTM D910, the FAA’s own guidance says an independent specification for fuels and oils is specifically allowed, Braly said. Further, language in the 2018 FAA Reauthorisation Bill clearly allows fuels to be approved under STC.

Braly said the TAB also recommended that the GAMI project incorporate ‘lessons learned’ in the FAA’s aborted Piston Aviation Fuels Initiative, which terminated in 2018 after concluding that the two fuels it had examined, one from Swift Fuels and one from Shell were not suitable as drop-in replacements for 100LL. Shell has since stopped public work on a replacement fuel and Swift exited PAFI. PAFI’s findings, although supported with government funds, were not made public and thus were not available to GAMI during its fuel trials.

GAMI began work on G100UL in 2009 and was almost five years into the project when the FAA announced PAFI in 2014. The agency invited GAMI to join the PAFI programme but the company declined because the programme did not allow changes to fuel blends to meet test requirements during the programme and because the FAA refused to credit GAMI for test work it had done in the four years prior to PAFI’s establishment.

When we asked the FAA about the TAB’s recommendation for issue papers on FAA-approved testing already done, the FAA declined to provide any details. “We do not comment on ongoing certification projects. The FAA has approved unleaded fuel for use in some aircraft. The agency continues to work with the General Aviation industry and fuel suppliers to develop and test additional unleaded fuel options,” an FAA spokesperson said.

Ryanair no longer axing Lauda’s Airbus A320 leases

Ryanair’s subsidiary Lauda Europe will not be switching to an all Boeing 737 fleet as previously indicated. Instead, the airline will extend the Airbus A320 leases for another four years from 2024 to 2028, Ryanair Group’s chief executive Michael O’Leary said at a conference in Vienna on 13 July 2022.

Ryanair Group is known to operate a uniform fleet of Boeing 737 aircraft. However, the carrier diversified and advocated a dual Boeing and Airbus fleet after acquiring the defunct Austrian carrier Lauda in 2018. Lauda Europe currently operates a total of 29 A320s. The remainder of Ryanair Group’s subsidiaries operate more than 480 Boeing 737 aircraft. Ryanair had been looking at cancelling the leases on all of the Airbus A320s operated by Lauda in favour of a Boeing fleet in 2020.

EASA announces $350,000 tender for lithium battery screening solution

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) announced on its website a $350,000 call for tender for a new project dedicated to exploring technologies that could be used in airports to screen for lithium batteries in baggage to reduce safety risks. According to the aviation safety body, volumes of lithium batteries transported by aircraft are growing every day as a wide range of electric and electronic products are equipped with this power source. However, the rising number of lithium batteries onboard has led to an increase in fire risk and incidents of smoke, which can result in catastrophic aviation incidents.

After an airport fire possibly caused by lithium-ion batteries, Hong Kong Air Cargo Carrier bans the VIVO brand of smartphones. “Lithium batteries, whether or not contained in equipment, are one of the main causes of the incidents reported in the cabin. Certain restrictions apply to the carriage by passengers of lithium metal and lithium-ion batteries in accordance with ICAO Annex 18 and the ICAO Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods (ICAO Doc. 9284),” EASA said. 

“Notwithstanding, this screeners shall primarily focus their attention on the identification of prohibited items from a security perspective, there is a need to investigate possible technical, operational and regulatory solutions to support safety requirements (in particular detection of lithium batteries not transported in line with applicable safety rules) without affecting the performance of screening operations,” the agency added. The agency aims to assess the potential screening solutions for airports to detect lithium batteries with a capacity exceeding 100Wh in baggage. The winner of the tender, which will be funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme, will be awarded a contract in November 2022.

Stratos prepares for next two 716X deliveries

Redmond, Oregon-based Stratos Aircraft is making final arrangements for the next two customer deliveries of its revolutionary $2.95-million 716X, the world’s fastest, highest flying and longest range experimental, amateur-built jet. Stratos’ goal is to slash the cost of owning and operating personal jets to that of single-engine turboprops. Customer interest is climbing as Stratos reaches major milestones near the completion of its flight test campaign.

“In May, Sean Van Hatten, our chief test pilot repeatedly flew the aircraft to FL 410. We have now completed flight envelope expansion, flutter tests and RVSM precision altitude holding tests. We have also flown it as fast as 380 knots and verified that the aircraft is free of Mach buffet in wind-up turns at the highest cruise altitudes,” says Carsten Sundin, Stratos Aircraft president and CEO. More than 150 flights have been completed thus far to verify longitudinal stability and control, slow flight including stall behaviour and performance.

The 716X gets its name from its 0.70 maximum Mach operating speed, single turbofan engine and six-seat interior. The X means that it’s experimental. While it is amateur-built, Stratos engineers, technicians and craftsman will carefully supervise every step from lay-up of the first ply of carbon pre-preg cloth until its final post construction flight test.

“The purchase of each Stratos 716X comes with an extensive builder assistance programme. We have made great progress on setting up for guiding our next customers through the entire build process. We have invested in building precision construction and assembly fixtures, most with ±0.003-inch tolerances, about as thick as a human hair. This will give builders the confidence that their aircraft will deliver on Stratos’ promises for construction quality, aircraft durability and performance fidelity,” says Matthew Collier, Stratos Aircraft production manager.

The 716X aircraft package is delivered as five groups of components and assemblies through the Stratos Aircraft subsidiary Stratos Fusion, provider of all components and builder’s assistance support. Builders complete each of the first three groups under the close supervision of Stratos Fusion in Redmond, Oregon. The fourth and fifth groups are finished at one of Stratos Authorised Completion Centres. The 716X build package includes a freshly overhauled, 2,965 lbs thrust Pratt & Whitney Canada JT15D-5 turbofan and a complete Garmin G3X avionics package. Estimated build time for early serial number aircraft is 12 to 15 months. The $2.95-million price can vary based upon options and cosmetic upgrades.

Couple found with 45 handguns arrested at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi airport

A married couple flying back to Delhi from Vietnam were arrested at Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) after customs officials found 45 handguns in their possession. The couple, who have been identified as husband and wife Jagjit Singh and Jaswinder Kaur, admitted to officials that they had previously brought 25 pistols to India from Turkey. The spouses were said to have been traveling with their young daughter, who has been given to the grandmother by the government following her parents’ arrest. A customs commissioner said that the family flew in from Vietnam on 11 July 2022.

Singh had been in possession of two trolley bags allegedly given to him by his older brother, who had flown in from Paris around the same time that day. According to reports, Singh’s wife helped him remove the tags from the bags in which the weapons were stored. Customs authorities stopped Singh and Kaur and discovered the weapons before the couple were able to make their way to the airport exit.

Customs officials told local media that while investigations are still underway, they can confirm that the assortment of handguns found in the couple’s possession were worth INR 2,250,000.00 (USD 28,000).

European rocket Vega-C completes maiden mission into space

The 35-meter-tall rocket took off from the Guiana Space Centre (CSG) in Kourou, French Guiana and after a little over two hours, it delivered its payload at an altitude of around 5,900 kilometres. The Italian scientific satellite LARES-2, intended to study the effect of gravity in outer space, was delivered to orbit along with six CubeSats mini-satellites. The Vega-C is an improved version of the Vega rocket, manufactured by the Italian company Avio and part of the Arianespace catalogue. Smaller than the Ariane rocket family, its new engine and larger fairing allow for 2.2 tons of payload, an 800-kilogram improvement compared to the original launcher.

Thanks to this upgrade, the European Space Agency (ESA) is now capable of assigning missions previously carried out by the Russian Soyuz launcher. On 26 February 2022, citing EU sanctions on Russian tech companies in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s space agency Roscosmos stopped Soyuz flights from the Kourou spaceport. The Vega-C already has a busy schedule, with five launches planned in 2023, four in 2023 and four in 2024.

SpaceX undeterred after launchpad mishap

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjbjXTomxqI

In a blow to an endeavour contemporaneously triumphant and beset by growing-pains, SpaceX’s Starship programme suffered an apparent explosion of the reusable space vehicle’s Super Heavy booster during tests at the company’s Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas. By all accounts, a fire occurred while SpaceX engineers were testing the booster’s Raptor engines, all 33 of them. Regrettably, the fire spread, ultimately triggering an explosion of the booster assembly. Though little verifiable information is yet available, the incident is likely attributable to a malfunction in one or more of the rocket’s highly sophisticated, immensely powerful Raptor engines. 

SpaceX’s launch vehicles are among the most robust and reliable in the emergent commercial space launch game. Occasional setbacks notwithstanding, Musk’s company remains the big dog in a kennel that includes mix-breeds like United Launch Alliance, the joint Boeing-Lockheed space venture and purebreds such as Blue Origin, the Kent, Washington-based aerospace manufacturer founded by Amazon boss Jeff Bezos and Virgin Galactic, the California spaceflight subsidiary of British billionaire and perennial cool-dude Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson’s Virgin Group.

SpaceX’s Falcon-9, Falcon Heavy and Starship programmes represent the vanguard of human space exploration and will likely play significant, if not pivotal roles in both humanity’s return to the moon and its first attempts to land souls on Mars.

Starship is the tallest and most powerful launch vehicle ever built. The two-stage behemoth comprises the Super Heavy booster first-stage and the Starship second-stage and spacecraft. SpaceX offers four variants of the vehicle: cargo, crew, propellant tanker and lunar lander. The Federal Aviation Administration, which oversees space launch and rocket re-entry operations, said it was in ‘close contact’ with SpaceX following the explosion, but that it would open no formal investigation insomuch as the incident did not occur during a formal launch campaign.

AIR eVTOL completes first hover tests

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IdgzSnswOY

On Tuesday Advanced air mobility (AAM) company AIR announced that its AIR ONE electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) prototype has successfully completed its first series of hover tests. The company reports that the aircraft’s systems functioned as designed and its energy use was as predicted throughout the two weeks of testing. AIR says it plans to expand to full flight envelope testing later this year. According to Israel-based AIR, its two-seat AIR ONE eVTOL design will have a top speed of 155 MPH and 110-mile range and be capable of carrying a 441-pound payload. The company estimates that the aircraft, which it is marketing to individual owners rather than for commercial air taxi use, will have a 0 to 100 percent charge time of one hour. AIR is aiming to begin AIR ONE deliveries in 2024.

Royal Air Force scraps B-21 drone wingman concept

Last year, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall made headlines when he announced plans to develop a drone counterpart for the still-yet-to be unveiled B-21 stealth bomber. Now, it appears the project is dead before it ever got off the ground. “The idea of a similar range collaborative combat aircraft is not turning out to be cost effective, so it looks like we are not going to go that direction,” he said in an interview at the Royal International Air Tattoo.

After doing some analysis, the idea appears to be “less attractive than we thought it might be,” Kendall said, with the reasoning coming down to value. Bombers are by nature large planes, not only so they can carry large weapons payloads, but so they can fly at the long ranges needed for an aircraft to conduct a strategic strike anywhere in the world. But that size can drive cost and, in the end, the Air Force determined it was not worth developing an unmanned B-21 counterpart that would be comparable in size to a large bomber. “For relatively small platforms, taking a crew out can make it much cheaper,” he said. “But for large platforms, you do not gain that much because the crew is only a small fraction of the weight, a small fraction of the cost by comparison.”

Kendall first announced his intention to start two new classified drone programmes to Politico in December. Later that month, he disclosed that one of them was meant to be a wingman, of sorts, to the B-21 and part of a larger family of systems that would accompany the B-21 into battle. “The B-21 is a very expensive aircraft. It has a certain payload and range. We would like to amplify that capability it has to penetrate, which is valuable,” he said.

As one of Kendall’s seven major priorities, what he terms “operational imperatives, the Air Force has spent half a year analysing how it could structure a B-21 family of systems, soliciting industry for ideas and evaluating those inputs. While the idea of a B-21 drone counterpart did not ultimately pan out, Kendall noted that other ideas are bearing fruit. “There are other things that we can do with the B-21 in a family systems context that we think are interesting,” Kendall said, adding that he couldn’t go into details given the secretive nature of the programme.

Kendall’s other idea for a classified unmanned combat aircraft a ‘Loyal Wingman’ style drone that could be paired with the fifth generation F-35 and the Air Force’s future sixth-generation fighter, known as Next Generation Air Dominance, is very much still of interest to the service and a programme he remains ‘excited’ by, he said. The Air Force plans to buy at least 100 B-21 Raiders from prime contractor Northrop Grumman over the course of the programme. Tom Jones, Northrop’s head of its aeronautics sector, confirmed that the company is still on track to roll out the first B-21 by the end of 2022.

Police interrupt prison drone delivery

A federal grand jury has indicted a man in Beaumont, Texas, after police said they caught him trying to use a drone to fly contraband into a prison. The indictment charged Davien Phillip Turner (44), with owning or operating an unregistered drone and serving or attempting to serve as an airman without an airman’s certificate, the US Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Texas, announced on Tuesday. The arrest of Turner, who also goes by Davien Phillip Mayo, is part of a disturbing trend involving drones which are designated as ‘unmanned aircraft systems’ (UAS) by the FAA.

“Prisons around the country have faced the problem of individuals using drones to fly over prison complexes and drop contraband items to the prison population,” a statement from the US Attorney’s Office said. Details of the case are now being investigated by the FBI, the Bureau of Prisons, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and the FAA.

On 19 May police in Jefferson County, Texas, responded to a report that someone was ‘operating a drone on the property of the Federal Correctional Complex in Beaumont,’ the statement said. They ‘found Turner in the area where the drone was being operated,’ according to authorities. Law enforcement officers also ‘discovered several bags near the drone that Turner allegedly was going to drop into the prison complex via the drone,’ the statement said.  Police listed several items in the bags, including tobacco, cell phones, cell phone chargers, various tools and vape pens. Officers suspect these goods ‘were to be sold by inmates within the prison.’

The UAS allegedly used by Turner was identified as a DJI Matrice 600 Pro, which is used by professional drone pilots, but is no longer in production. According to DJI’s website, the Matrice 600 Pro features a hexacopter design propelled by six motors and proprotors. Its maximum flight time, with a payload of up to 5.5 kg (12 pounds) and six batteries, ranges between 16 and 18 minutes. The drone also has a maximum range of 3.1 miles and features retractable landing gear.  Federal regulations require all drones that weigh more than 0.55 pounds to be registered. The FAA also requires all drone operators flying for non-recreational purposes to obtain an FAA remote pilot certificate under 14 CFR Part 107. If convicted, the US Attorney’s Office said Turner will face up to three years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

Schiebel demos S-100 use in offshore logistics

Schiebel, together with its partner Nordic Unmanned, successfully demonstrated to Norwegian energy company Equinor the onshore capabilities of the S-100 proving the utility for UAS offshore logistics. The three-week onshore test phase was part of the Offshore Drone Service contract between Equinor and Nordic Unmanned. The scope involves cargo deliveries between the installations at the Gullfaks field and multiple daily flights between offshore installations and vessels in the Tampen area.

The test flights were conducted at both a facility close to the city of Stavanger and at a commercial airport. The aim was to verify the maturity of the S-100 for the offshore environment and included extending the operational range of the CAMCOPTER® S-100 beyond the initial radio line of sight, allowing the system to reach all target installations. In addition, the UAV completed the drop of a subsea unmanned intervention device, which is used for underwater inspection of installations. It was delivered from the helideck to a specific point in the water using the S-100’s underslung load solution.

Hans Georg Schiebel, Chairman of the Schiebel Group, said: “After our successful demonstration for Equinor in 2020, we have now entered the next phase. The onshore trials are now complete and we have once again proven the unrivalled capabilities of the S-100. Together with Nordic Unmanned and Equinor, we are pushing the boundaries of what is possible in terms of offshore logistics.”

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